Wyoming
Tom Lubnau: Once Upon A Time, The Wyoming Republican Party…
Once upon a time, the Wyoming Republican Party Organization had integrity. These days, not so much.
For example, the Crook County Republican Party Organization donated the whopping sum of $25,000 dollars to the Wyoming Freedom PAC.
This donation was made despite the fact that Wyoming Statute §22-25-104 says “No political party funds shall be expended directly or indirectly in the aid of the nomination of any one person as against another person of the same political party running in the primary election.”
When a Crook County Republican Official was asked about the donation, Sherry Davis, a Crook County State Committeewoman said, “A PAC is not a candidate.” As a result, the donation was legal.
Everyone in the world knows what candidates the Wyoming Freedom PAC supports. If donations are made to the Wyoming Freedom PAC, they will go to support candidates in the primary who are running against other Republican Candidates.
How this is not “indirect” support of one person against another person in a primary is hard to comprehend. Even if the strained interpretation of the statutory language made sense, a party organization with integrity would have followed the spirit of the law.
What was the reaction of the ultra-conservative Wyoming Freedom PAC, who argues on their website they want to uphold the “rule of law”? Of course, they took the money.
Why? One could assume that obtaining power by any means is more important than following the law. For the Wyoming Freedom PAC, it appears the rule of law is negotiable depending on who benefits.
What was the reaction of the Wyoming State Republican Party Central Committee – the organization responsible for governing the county parties to this donation? By all accounts – crickets. Why? One could argue the Wyoming Republican Party does not care about the spirit of the law.
The State Republican Party has their own issues with complying with this law. Let’s examine just one example.
Kathy Russell is paid the Executive Director of the Wyoming Republican Party. She is in charge of the day-to-day administration of the Wyoming Republican Party.
She is running against Bob Nicholas, the Republican incumbent in House District 7.
There was a time, when a party with integrity would have asked Ms. Russell to step down from her job to run for office. She still has her job.
One wonders, hypothetically, if Ms. Russell is using her knowledge, position of power and influence within the party to advance her campaign, while never missing a paycheck from the Wyoming Republican Party.
Doug Gerard, for example, was chair of the Campbell County Republican Party. He stepped down from that position to run for Wyoming House. Doug Gerard demonstrated integrity.
Was there any action taken regarding this conflict of interest in advancing the interests of all Republican candidates? None to my knowledge.
What if a Republican wanted to complain to the party about any of the Party’s actions or non-actions in these matters? What recourse would they have?
The Wyoming Republican Party developed their own secret court system to manage disputes between Republican persons or entities.
Look it up. You can find the party bylaws on the Wyoming Republican Party website. It’s frightening. Article II Section 2 of the Wyoming Republican Party Bylaws creates their own private secret court system.
A committee of not less than 5 nor more than 9 members of the State Central Committee are appointed by the Chairman of the Party, Frank Eathorne.
These rules purport to bind every Republican. They meet in secret. They have no rules of evidence or procedure.
They get to hire an attorney. They get to choose who your attorney can be. They can render a money judgement and take your property.
I personally do not submit to this process. You should tell them the same thing.
What could possibly go wrong with this process?
When the top-secret arbitration panel is made up of party insiders, selected by the Chairman of the Party and allowed to meet in secret, the result is a fait accompli. Whatever the party insiders want, they get.
Another avenue for complaints for these violations should be to the State’s Chief Election Officer, the Secretary of State, Chuck Gray, to enforce the integrity of the election. He has his problems, too.
Tons of black money are funneling into the state, with campaign mailers that say, “Representative So and So, voted with the Radical Left to remove President Trump from the ballot.”
What really happened was Representative So and So voted not authorize Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s slush fund to litigate matters in other states. So, apparently, opposing a slush fund for the Secretary of State is tantamount to opposing Donald Trump.
Legislators are being punished for opposing Secretary of State Gray’s slush fund with deceptive mailers, and some have even filed a lawsuit against the publisher of the deceptive mailers.
What has Secretary of State Gray’s response been to the black money mailers? Crickets.
It used to be the party, and party officials had integrity. Not so much anymore. All we see is the unbridled pursuit of power – power over our daily lives. And who is worse to wield power over our daily lives than those who lack integrity?
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2005 – 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House.
He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.
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The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.
The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”
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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.
Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.
Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.
Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.
The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.
Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.
A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.
Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.
Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.
The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.
Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.
2A Boys:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm
(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!
Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm
Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place
Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
2A Girls:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am
(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am
(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place
Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
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